Hay-stacker.



J. L. BOWMAN.

HAY STAGKER. APPLICATION FILED rmms, 1910.

' Patented Aug. 2, 1910.

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HAY STACKER. APPLICATION TILED FBB.25, m0.

Faten'ted Aug. 2, I910.

m 2 2 1 M n mu m H w A 0M 8 T h E ,A. E w M 3 6 5 m i t y i J. L. BOWMAN.

HAY STAOKER.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 25, 1910.

Patented Aug. 2, 1910.

3 BHEETS-SHBET 3. 4

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as Parana orrron J'OSELPH L. BOWMALLOF QUINTER, KANSAS.

HAY-STAGKER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented A11g32, 1910.

Application filed February 25, 1910. Serial No. 545,974.

To dll'whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, JOSEPH L. BOWMAN,

-a citizen of the United $tates of America, residing at Quinter, in the county of Gove and State ofKansas, have invented new and useful Improvements in Hay-Snickers, of

which thefollowing is a specification.

This ipvention relatesto hay stackers, and v 1t l1lS\p LI't'lC llltU.' reference to that class of stackers which are also used for gathering hay in the field and in which a suitable framestructure mounted upon wheels for transportation is equipped with a pivotally supported fra'ine constituting a lever with which the stacker forkis connected, hoisting means being provided including a flexi blehoisting element which connects the lever frame with a drum actuated by the progress of the machine so that as the machine progresses after a load has been placed upon the fork, the lever will be tilted, and the fork will be elevated to a suitable posi- U'on for dumping, in which position it is retained by temporarily disengaging the hoisting mechanism and holding the lever stationary by suitable clutch mechanism While the load is being transported where it is to be dumped.

The invention consists in certain improvements in the stacker fork, the same being provided with means whereby the load Wlll be securely retained thereupon while in transit, one of the principal objects of the invention being to provide simple and reliable load-retaining means.

A further object of the invention is to provide a simple and improved means whereby the load-retaining device at any time may be raised or lifted to a non-obstructing position, this being of essential importance at the time when the load is being placed upon the fork by means of an ordinary bull rake or other Well known means.

Further objects of the invention are to simplify and improve the general construction and operation of a device of the character outlined above.

With these and other ends in view, which will readily appear as the nature of the in ventihn is better understood, the same consists in the improved construction and novel arrangementt and combination of parts which will be hereinafter fully described.

. illustrated a simple and preferred form of the invention, it being, however, understood that no limitation is necessarily made to the precise structural details therein exhibited, but that changes, alterations and modifications within the scope of the invention may be resorted to when desired. .1 i

In the dra\vings,l!igure l is a side elevation of a hay stacker equipped with the improvement, the stacker fork being shown 6 in load-receiving position and the retaining device being shown in dotted lines raised; to a non-obstructing position. Fig. 2 is f? side elevation, showing the stacker fork el vated and with dotted lines indicating the dumping position. Fig. 3 is a top plan; view. Fig. 4 is a view in side elevation entj larged of the stacker fork equipped with the retaining device. Fig. 5 is a .rear elevation of the same. Figs. 6 and 7 are views taken from posite sides, illustrating the manner of con ecting the retaining prongs with the tranfierse shaft of the retaining device, said shaft being shown in section; Fig. 8 is a detail iew, partly in section, showing a portion due of the tubular connecting arms andthe means for mounting the same upon the rear wall of the stacker fork. Fig. '9

is a sectional detail view of the pivotally supported arm, whereby the position of the retaining device is regulated.

Corresponding parts in the several figures are denoted by like characters of reference.

In Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings has been shown a hay stacker of conventional and well known construction, the same including a base frame -1 of approximately triangular form, being supported for transp'ortation upon carrying wheels 2 and a guide wheel 3. A suitably constructed upright frame 4 supports the triangular lever frame 5 withwhich the floor or platform 6 of the fork is hingedly'connected, the rear corner of said frame being connected by aflexible hoisting element? with a drum 8 upon which it may be wound for the purpose of tilting the fork-carrying frame to elevate the load. An auxiliary frame, which is pivotally supported upon the fulcrum bar 9 carrying the lever frame, includes an arm 10, a hand lever 11 and a connecting rod or brace 12, said arm 10 being connected by a rope or link member 13 with the upperend of the back wall 14 of-the fork. Suitable latch means are employed to keep the auxiliary frame tilted to the position shown in full lines in Fig. 1 for the purpose of placing the connecting tion; said latch means being capa le of being released to permit the auxiliaryframe to swing to the .position indicated dotted lines in Fig. 2, for the purpose of tilting the stacker fork to theload-discharging position indicated in dotted lines in Fig.2 ofthe drawings'. The stacker as thus far outlined, is of well known construction, and several structural details have been omitted, it being deemed unnecessary to describe the same in detail, as they are well known and constitute no part of the present invention.

The stacker fork includes the floor 6, which is usually-formed of a plurality of suitably spaced teeth, the same being connected and spaced apart by means of cross bars 1.5 and 16, the rear cross bar being provided with rearwardly extending. arms 17. 18 is a lever, the lower end of which is bifurcated to form a ms 19, the lower extremities of which are 'pivota'lly supported adjacent to the rear cross bar 16 of the stacker fork. The lever 18 extends upwardly above the rear wall 1 1 of the stacker fork, 'saidlrear wall being composed of a plurality of rilats or uprights connected at their upper ends with a cross bar 20. Pivotally supported upon said cross bar are forwardly extend-i ing arms 21 which, if desired, may be of tubular construction, said arms supporting at their forward ends a'cross piece 22'which is securely fixed with reference to said arms. Braces 23 connect the forward ends of the arms 21 with the upper end of the lever 18, and additional braces 24 connect the'arms 21 with the cross bar 22 to reinforce the construction. The arms 21, which are pivotally supported upon the rear wall of the stacker fork, extensions constituting brackets 25, each .having a plurality of apertures 26 for the adjustable attachment of one end of the" connecting member, whereby eachbracket- 25 is connected with one of the brackets 17 extending rearwardly from the cross piece 16 of the floor-of the. fork, each of the connecting members being composed of rods or links 27 and a spring 28, the tension of which is exerted to swing. the arms 21' in an n ward direction'to counteract the/ weight of said arms and of the parts connected therewith.

The cross piece 22 is provided with a plurality of rearwardly extending arms 29 and downwardly extending lugs 30, see Figs-6- and 7, the load-retaining prongs 31 being --pivotally connected with the lugs 30. An-

gular bars 32 are provided, the same formed 'wlth eyes 33 at their lower ends, said eyes encircling the pivotally .supported prongs- 81 upon which springs 34: are coiled intermediate the eyes and the supporting lugs 30; ,The upper ends of the angular arms 32 are provided with rearward operation,

are extended rearwardly across the b r 22 and are pivotally connected withithe mms 29 that extend rearwardly from said bar. It follows that while the prongs 31 arenormally held in load-obstructing position by the action of the springs against the eyes of the angular arms 32, the said prongs will yield to pressure in an outward direction when the load is dumped or discharged, thereby preventing breakage of parts.

It will be readily seen that under the construction herein described, wh'en strain in a rearward direction isexerted upon the lever 18, the latter will swing upon its fulcrum upon or adjacent to the cross bar 16, and the link rods or braces 23 connecting- .said lever with the arms 21 will tend to swing the latter in an upward direction, as

indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2. For the purpose of thus actuating the lever 18, the

same is connected by a connecting element 35 with an arm 36 extending from a sleeve 37 which is pivotally supported upon the fulcrum bar 9 of the stacker frame,.said arm beingreinforced by a brace 38, as best seen in Fig. 9. The arm 36 is also connected by a connecting element 39 with-a hand lever 10 fulcrumed upon the'stacker frame and having a stop member 41 adapted to engage a segment rack 42 suitably secured upon said frame for the purpose of retaining said lever and the parts connected therew'ith at various adjustments.

The operation of this invention will be readil understood from the foregoing description, taken in connection with the drawings hereto annexed by those skilled in theart to which it appertains. en the stacker fork is lowered/t8 the load-receiving position indicated in ig. 1, the hand lever 10 is manipulated to swing the lever 18 and the parts of the retaining device connected therewith and actuated thereby to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1. The load may now be placed upon the platform of the fork, after which the lever 40 is again manipulated to restore the retaining device to a loadobstruct-ing position. The stacker is now set in motion to wind the element 7 upon the drum 8, thereby swinging the forkcairrying lever or frame in an upward direction. When a suitable elevation has been attainedfsubstantially as indicated in full the load may lines in Fig. 2 of the drawings, be carried to the dumping place,

by releasing the frame, including the arm 10'andthe lever 11, is held in a'tilted position, said frame will be permitted to swing to the position indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2, thus permitting the fork to swing to the dumping or load-discharging positlon indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2. -By the same it is obvious that strain will be exercised by the lever 18 in an upward direc- Q after which the trip mechanism, whereby iion upon the arms 21 of the load-retaining device, swinging thelatter and especially "the prongs out of the Way of the load so as to permit the latter to drop without obstruction. The platform of the fork may now be restored to an approximately horizontal osition by manipulating the lever 11, aiter which the fork-carrying frame may bereleased by unwinding the hoisting rope from the drum, thus permitting the fork to he lowered to the ground for a repetition of the operation.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, is

1-. A stacker fork including a platform and a rear wall, a lever supported pivot-ally adjacent tot-he lower end of the rear wall, forwardly extending arms supported pivotally upon the upper edge of the rear wall; links connecting the lever with the arms, cross bar supported by the arms, springaetuated teeth connectedpivotally with the cross bar, and means for tilting the lever to elevate the arms supporting the prong-carrying bar.

2. A stacker fork'including a platformandia rear-wall, a lever fulcrumed adjacent to the lower endof the-rear wall, ivotally supported arms extending forwardly from the upper end ofxthe rear Walland having rearwardly extending brackets, connecting members including tension springs connecting .said brackets with brackets extending rearwardly from the base of the rear wall,,

Links connecting the upper end of the lever w th the forwardly extending arms, a cross in presence of two witnesses.

bar supported by said arms, and spring-actuated load-retaining prongs connected pivotally with the cross bar.

3. 'A stacker fork, forwardly extending 4o arms hingedly connected with the back wall engaging the lever to retain said lever in relatively stationary position when the fort: 5o

tilted to discharge a lead.

V 4. In a device of the character described, a fork having a load-rotaining device including pivotally supported arms and a cross carried thereby, arins extending'rearwardly from the cross bar lugs upon the cross bar, load-retaining prongs connected pivot/ally with the lugs, angular arms straddling the cross bar and connected pivotally at their rear ends with the rearwardly extending arms, said angular arms beingprovided. at their lower ends with eyes encircling the load-retainingprongs, and springs coiled upon the latter between said eyes and the su porting lugs of the prongs.

' aflix my signature n testimony whereof i JOSEPH L. BGWMAN. Witnesses:

G. J. innisnnnnr, H. P. liinnnnnnr. 

